Air Bonsai

One step closer to Laputa

The crowdfunding website Kickstarter kicked off to a flying start this year in Japan, with one campaign already having raised over ¥75 million. “Air Bonsai,” a project created by the Kyushu-based Hoshinchu Air Bonsai Garden artisan team, uses the application of levitation technology—meaning magnets—to suspend a charming fist-sized moss or lavastone covered bonsai plant two centimeters in the air. Fans of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, will surely be impressed.

According to Hoshinchu, the project was born out of a desire to “promote the traditional Japanese art form of bonsai to the modern generation through its unique presentation.”

Due to export laws, Hoshinchu are only able to ship to certain countries, and plants must be native to the country in which they’re purchased. Japanese customers are able to select from a wide variety of fauna, including traditional matsu (pine) or sakura (cherry blossom) bonsai.